


Target Practice

by Meriyda (Eyrine)



Category: Heroine's Quest: The Herald of Ragnarok (Video Game)
Genre: Archery, F/M, Flirting, Massage, Teaching, Touching
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-10
Updated: 2020-09-10
Packaged: 2021-03-01 00:14:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,954
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23236036
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Eyrine/pseuds/Meriyda
Summary: Suddenly, she is trembling. It could be blamed on the cold and she is sure Snorri would assume as much, but the actual cause is the tension creeping back into her mind. Somehow, proving herself in a simple challenge has become scarier than fighting monsters or dueling mighty swordsmen, but why that is she cannot say.
Relationships: Heroine/Snorri (Heroine's Quest)





	Target Practice

**Author's Note:**

> I love this game so much, so I was really disappointed when I couldn't find any fanfiction of it. Here's some playful (romantic?) interaction between the protagonist and Snorri. Small details may have been changed under the guise of creative freedom.
> 
> The heroine does not have a name in the game, so I named her Eira (which means "merciful"). She's a warrior.

Eira shivers. After spending a night in the warmth of Sigurd's house, the cold outside is most unpleasant. Clenching her jaw, she continues her journey back to the city of Fornsigtuna. She had planned to go back sooner, but in the past twenty-four hours other matters have kept her occupied. After finally solving the Librarian's puzzle and finding the training book, she thought there was nothing else to do in Munarvagir. There was nothing, until her possessions were stolen from her room in the middle of the night. By the time she got them back, morning had already come.

The few hours of sleep she did get have left her a tad groggy. It is clear that she is not as observant as she is supposed to be. Roughly an hour ago, a brigand managed to sneak up on her to attack her from behind. While it did not take much effort to defeat him, Eira cannot help but be annoyed by the deterioration of her perceptive skills (even if only temporary). A hero should always be at their best so they can protect themselves and others from danger.

Eira tends to be hard on herself, a little too hard sometimes. Even with the most challenging of tasks, she will not give up until she has succeeded. Jarnvidr is a place full of challenges, but she welcomes them. It gives her a chance to improve many of her skills, so long as the cold of winter does not make her freeze to death.

She wanders to the north. As she makes her way through the familiar parts of the forest, she runs into three vargs who are scouting the area together. They growl at her as she approaches, blood dripping from their teeth. She keeps going forward without making eye contact, but the vargs charge and come running towards her. It appears they have made the mistake of choosing her as their prey.

Drawing her sword, Eira releases a battle cry and lunges herself at the varg in the middle. Her blade pierces the animal's heart with the first thrust. The varg falls to the ground as she pulls her sword back out. Instead of fleeing, the two remaining vargs attack her as well. A foolish thing to do. She spins, slashing her sword around and hitting both of the beasts. Blood gushes out of their wounds, painting the snow a deep red. Their death is quick and the pain lasts only an instant, or so Eira assumes.

The lifeless bodies have fallen to the ground, forming a triangle around her. Sheathing her sword, Eira takes out her knife. The smell of blood fills her nose as she bends down, but she tries not to pay any attention to it. With the knife, she collects as much of their hides and meat as she can carry. Then she throws the bodies on a pile, leaving them for whatever creature wishes to feast on the leftovers.

Over the past four days she has learned that any encounter with a wild animal can be convenient, even with the vicious ones, for food is scarce in Fornsigtuna. The people rely on those who can hunt. Eira has seen others return with mushrooms more than once, but she could not tell if those were actually edible. Desperate times call for desperate measures, it seems. Fortunately, she can get by without consuming possibly poisonous fungi.

Softly humming a tune, she moves along. The sky is a clear blue, but there is a chill wind that goes straight through her armor. Longing for the comfort of the adventurer's guild, she marches steadily through the snow.

~◇~

It is around midday when she sees a familiar face at the archery target. Snorri is there, practicing all alone. He shoots arrows at the target in rapid succession, every single one hitting the edge of the bullseye. His steady form and impressive accuracy prove that he knows how to handle bow and arrow.

Eira watches in admiration as another arrow slips through his nimble fingers. The arrowhead buries itself deep into the very center of the bullseye. She wants to clap for him and she would if there were a guarantee that it does not get her an arrow to the chest. Snorri is a man who acts upon instinct, which results in hasty decisions that he has not thought through. Startling him would be a bad move.

She carefully takes a step to the left. Though the sound of the snow crunching under her feet is quite loud, Snorri does not turn around. He appears completely focused on his practice.

But when she takes another step, he puts the arrow back in his quiver and lowers his arms.

"I know you're there, adventurer. You're not exactly a stealthy one, I'm afraid."

Eira frowns and stops. "How did you know it was me?"

"The only people passing through this area are you, me and the brigands. And if you were an brigand, you would have tried to attack me instead of sneaking away."

Snorri looks at her with a grin, beckoning her. Seeing as there is no longer a risk of getting arrowed, she approaches. As she looks at the target again, she gives a respecting nod.

"I see you're no stranger to archery. That was an impressive shot."

"It would have been concerning had I missed. I have been trained abundantly and I must admit my skills have declined somewhat, which is why I came here to practice."

"Are you saying you used to do better than... that?" she asks, gesturing to the target.

"There was a time when I shot a hundred men through the heart without missing."

Eira finds that hard to believe, but she is no expert on archery. On the contrary, she has little knowledge of it. It has always interested her though. She has tried archery once, a long time ago. Her gaze follows Snorri as he walks to the target to retrieve the arrows. Small holes in the inner circle mark the places where he has hit the target. He puts the arrows back in the quiver on his back, turns around and tramps back through the snow.

"So," he says, eyeing her curiously, "what has the adventurer been up to? Slain any trolls yet?"

"Not yet. So far I have not traveled after sunset. However, I have explored most parts of the forest. My most recent discovery has been Munarvagir."

"Anything interesting happening there?"

"Apart from a robbery in the middle of the night, nothing much."

Snorri makes a face and shakes his head, looking like he wants to make some remark, but says nothing. Eira is certain that he has nothing nice to say about thieves. As captain of the royal guard, it would be odd for him to approve of crime. It is not as though he does not have questionable morals himself, but she would rather not speak of that in his presence.

"It matters no more. I've found the thief and my belongings have been given back to me. My only loss is a few hours of sleep."

"A foolish mistake to steal from a warrior. I assume you gave them the punishment they deserve."

"Not quite, but I've warned her not to steal from me again."

Judging from his pursed lips, Snorri is not happy with the answer. Eira knows what he would've done had he been in her shoes, but she did what she deemed right: show mercy. Kraka has little to hold on to. She deserves an act of kindness despite her wrongdoings.

"You may think I've made a mistake by letting her run free, but you must understand that I couldn't just leave her to such a cruel fate. She's a young girl and it's difficult to find a way to survive, especially now with this eternal winter threatening Midgard. I do not want her to continue to steal, but I must protect her like I must protect any other person in these lands. Once evil has been defeated and everything is back to how it was, she can start over. I could even teach her to hunt for small animals so she can fetch her own food."

There is more she wants to say, but she stops talking when Snorri suddenly starts to laugh. Offended by the interruption, she glares at him. Seeing the look on her face, he stills his laughter.

"You're an ambitious woman, and forgiving as well. I admire your faith in others, but be careful that your kindness isn't taken advantage of."

"There is a fine line between kindness and stupidity."

"Spoken like a true heroine."

"I do hope you're not mocking me."

"Mock you? I would not dare!" So he says, but his teasing grin gives him away. Lithrasir has warned her about his shenanigans, so it does not come as a surprise.

There are two options: Eira can either counter his mockery with a witty response or ignore it and let him enjoy the moment. As fun as it would be to embarrass him, it is not the most heroic thing to do. She must change the subject somehow. Searching for something else to direct her attention to, she glances at the target again.

"How about a challenge then?" she suggests. "I would like to try my hand at archery."

"My bow is all yours." Snorri is quick to offer his bow to her along with three of his arrows. "I have practiced with Agilaz, brother to Volund and the best archer in these lands. Would you like to test your aim against mine?"

Eira frowns, but takes the bow and the arrows from him.

"What do you want me to do?"

"We'll keep it simple. You have three chances to hit the bullseye from where we're standing."

"Very well."

"Then I will leave you to it. Good luck."

Eira hears footsteps in the snow as Snorri steps back, and then she brings her focus back to the archery target, taking a deep breath in as she mentally prepares herself. Although the challenge was her idea, she is starting to get nervous. There is a fair chance she will mess up on her first try. Then again, she used to be so terrible at sword fighting that her teacher was convinced she would never master it and yet she managed to defeat him in a duel after months of training. Compared to that, hitting the bullseye in archery sounds like a piece of cake.

Filled with newfound determination, she readies herself for the first shot. For the lack of a quiver, she tucks two of the arrows under her belt. The basic stance is one of the few things she remembers from the last time she used bow and arrow. She tries to mimic the image in her head, turning her body away from the target. Her feet are perfectly aligned and shoulder-width apart. She straightens her back. The most difficult part is yet to come.

She raises her arms and keeps one eye open as she aims for the center of the target. Her fingers squeeze the nock and she pulls the bow string back with her right hand. All that is left is to release the arrow.

Suddenly, she is trembling. It could be blamed on the cold and she is sure Snorri would assume as much, but the actual cause is the tension creeping back into her mind. Somehow, proving herself in a simple challenge has become scarier than fighting monsters or dueling mighty swordsmen, but why that is she cannot say.

_Come on, focus! You can do this._

Little by little, her stance becomes steadier. In her head, the archery target turns into a non-suspecting deer enjoying a bite of grass. The cold of winter is forgotten, and for a moment she is back in the woods of her homeland. Aiming for the heart of the deer, she takes her first shot.

The arrow slides through her fingers. It flies forward at high speed, but it does not go straight ahead like she intended. The image of the deer in the lush green forest disappears as the arrow hits the outer circle of the target. Disappointed, Eira lowers the bow and clicks her tongue. She expected to do better than that.

Snorri just watches in silence as Eira pulls the second arrow out from under her belt. There is something unsettling about the way he is looking at her, but she tries to ignore him. She repeats all of the the steps and does an additional check to make sure the arrow is aligned perfectly with the bullseye. Before letting go, she takes a deep breath in through her nose. Her first shot was unlucky, but this time she will not miss.

The arrow is fired off into the freezing air. Despite Eira's carefully calculated aim, there is once again a disruption in the arrow's course, leading it to the ring around the bullseye. While it is a better shot, it still is not good enough. Now she only has one chance left to prove herself.

Something strange keeps happening to her shots, which is really starting to get on her nerves. She tries to stay calm, listening to the soothing song of the wind.

The wind. That must be it! It is not that her aim is off; she just has not been paying attention to other factors. If she can figure out where the wind is coming from, she can adjust her aim accordingly.

For the third and final time, the heroine raises her bow. A small patch of grass next to the target shows her that the wind is coming from the west. It is not very strong, but strong enough to mess up her final shot if she isn't careful. Instead of going for the center, she shifts her aim towards the left.

_It's now or never._

Her heart is pounding frantically. Right before she releases it feels as though her energy flows through the arrow, like it has become a part of her for a split second. Then she lets go. Her eyes follow the arrow closely as it flies in the direction of the target. She's almost scared to look. Almost.

The moment passes in the blink of an eye, but to Eira it feels like time is standing still. The sound of the arrow colliding with the target breaks the tension. She examines the position of the arrow. This is her best shot out of all three, but is it good enough to win the challenge?

Right now, it is unclear. The arrow is stuck on the right edge of the bullseye. She cannot tell from this distance if it actually counts.

Snorri chuckles.

"Keeping me in suspense are you?"

Eira turns around, meeting his gaze. "You and me both."

"Let's have a closer look then." A smile appears on Snorri's face, sincere yet easy to overlook. He goes to the archery target and Eira joins him. Together they stare at the arrow.

After a while, Snorri crosses his arms. "I'm not sure what to make of this. Perhaps we should pull out the arrow and look at the hole it's left in the target. It's your shot, so you do the honors."

"How very kind of you."

"Hey, a real man knows how to treat a lady, even if she's clad in armor."

The statement sounds so ridiculous coming from him that Eira must bite her lip to keep herself from laughing. He truly believes that he knows how to wrap any woman around his little finger. With this woman he will not have any luck, for she has met many men like him during her travels and is familiar with their methods. They always go for young ladies, trying to reel them in with compliments and empty promises. They might be able to fool gullible, innocent maidens, but not the quick-witted heroine.

Insulting Snorri will not do her any good though. Regardless of what comes out of his mouth, he is a well-respected fighter. She just plays along instead, wrapping her hand around the arrow and pulling it out in one graceful move. The small hole it has left behind shows that it just barely missed the bullseye.

"I'm afraid you have failed the challenge," Snorri says, "but I will say that your last shot was much better than the other two."

"That's because I hadn't been paying attention to the wind as I should have."

Snorri nods as he pulls the other arrows out, then gives them to Eira. She looks puzzled, but he merely smiles again.

"How about I teach you some tricks? It looks like you could be a good archer if you'd take some lessons."

_From the master?_ Eira adds in her mind, because she assumes those words are on the tip of his tongue. She hates to give him a chance to get cocky, but part of her insists that she should accept the offer. Being able to handle bow and arrow could come in handy on her adventures. Besides, Snorri would not have offered to teach her if he had no faith in her archery skills. That has got to count for something.

Without saying anything she takes the arrows from him, spins around and moves away from the target. Footsteps follow behind her. The spot where she stood during the challenge is marked by deep footprints in the snow. She places her feet right on the prints and stands perfectly still, facing the target and eyeing Snorri expectantly. He chuckles.

“I’ll take that as a yes. Well then, let’s get started."


End file.
